Finished this weekend 14-7 with my 25k La Liga side - my main side going 14-5 in the games finished last time round (remember the connection woes of a couple of weeks ago?)

Honestly at a loss for words right now but will try to highlight a few things I've noticed over the past weekend. It'll be all too easy to go on a rant about how your team means , and to a certain extent that may be true, but there were certainly some subtle differences between the two I feel are important to discuss.

Firstly, defenders. This is the part that worried me the most, having gone from a defence of De Gea, FS TAA, Flashback Luiz, PIM Cannavaro and Carniball Mendy to NIF Asenjo, Semedo, Paulista, Leglet and Lucas Hernandez (total cost 7.7k)... it could be down to my very manual defending nature but the difference between the two defences was negligible. I honestly can't recall a single time my CB's were torn apart for pace, not one. I guess with a base pace of 73 and key defensive stats all boosted to around 90 and above with sentinel I need not have worried. These stats seemed more than adequate. Found I ended up being a little more conservative with my fullbacks, especially Hernandez, but apart from that not much changed at all. Semedo and Lenglet in particular stood out and were exceptionally solid.

Asenjo let in goals he probably should have saved, saved some things he had no right getting a hand to - your typical Fifa GK performance. Did feel like a let in a few more goals than usual over the course of the weekend but in all honesty it was simply De Gea's long throw I missed the most. Apart from that never really felt at a disadvantage.

Midfield was where I felt the greatest difference between the two sides but even then it wasn't huge- NIF Kondogbia and Vidal (yep, NIF Vidal and his whopping 57 pace ) with chemstyles kept to basic performed well but did find they were caught in possession a lot more regularly than midfielders I'd used previously such as Makelele, Ballack, Pogba, FS Guendouzi, Carniball Talisca, IF Goretz etc. They didn't quite have the ability to create or push forward from deep as before and definitely found I was turning over possession more than I'd have liked. Simple passes and less sprinting were a staple here. Defensively they felt fine, and Vidal's 57 pace felt like an outright lie (honestly felt closer to 70) but they are definitely the one area of the team that was lacking, along with NIF Ben Yedder at CAM whose passing was not up to scratch. WBY was probably the poorest performer of the weekend on a whole. Scored a decent number of goals for a CAM but his creativity cost me in a number of situations where he was just unable to find a pass that better players would have. Then again, for 700 coins not really sure you can ask for much more than he provided.

Now, attacking. This was the part that surprised me the most. I've used players over the course of the year such as Ibra, POTM Hazard, Prime Larsson, Aguero, Prime Figo, countless top rated attackers..... not only did NIF Rodrigo score as many as them all, but NIF Guedes (another who cost 700 coins) at LM assisted more than any single player I've used for that period of games. It's not an exaggeration either, he honestly did lads. 17 assists in 21 games, from LM in a 4231(2). Can't quite put my finger on what it is about him but found his positioning and attacking sense to be absolutely top notch - he was making runs at the right moments, cutting in from left on his right foot was a breeze, rarely got shoved off the ball, arrived late in the area unmarked regularly. He and Rodrigo were absolute menaces - Rodrigo's finishing was superb throughout, absolute rocket of a left foot and felt a lot more agile and quick to turn than his stats suggest. His heading wasn't the greatest and missed the target a few times with simple headers better players may have nodded in but in terms out outright finishing, either inside the box or a 25 yard screamer, if he had a clear shot at goal he tended to score.

NIF Dembele at RM was acceptable but too easily shoved around, didn't have much of an impact throughout my run of games and I think would be better suited to a substitutes role but so far as the other two are concerned, literally couldn't tell the difference between Guedes and Rodrigo and 2-3m coin replacements.

One notable thing with attacking I did notice was that Rodrigo/WBY were closed down a fraction of a second faster than when using high end players - I guess this is down to reaction times and composure. Playing the ball in to Rodrigo's feet looking for him to hold up play a little did notice than opposition defenders stepped up and dealt with them. Early on in games I started worrying that this may cause issues but of course, this is Fifa. Just keep patient, don't look to belt the ball forward and score as quickly as possible with every single attack and your chances will come.

And last but not least, mentality. Going in to these matches I 100% felt that my concentration levels were higher and I cared just that little bit more than when I'm using stacked sides. And this is what I think matters most. In situations where I'd attempt a shot from a ridiculous angle or try to dribble past two defenders in a tight area expecting to be bailed out by my expensive superstars I'd instead make an extra pass or two and recycle possession... as opposed to lose it in a stupid position and no doubt get spanked on the counter. My average possession stats were undoubtedly higher this weekend than before, and this in turn helps defensively. If your opponent doesn't have the ball he's going to find it a lot harder to score. And get frustrated, especially when you're matching him passing wise with your ragtag bunch of NIF bandits.

In summary, unless you're going for the absolute top-notch players such as TOTY's or the high end icons such as Gullit etc I really don't think you'll find that much of a difference between a 25k side and a 5m side in terms of your results - will go at it again in a couple of weekends but for now, in my opinion, if you're simply average at the game as the vast majority of us are the difference is probably 1-2 wins a weekend.

Finished this weekend 14-7 with my 25k La Liga side - my main side going 14-5 in the games finished last time round (remember the connection woes of a couple of weeks ago?)

Honestly at a loss for words right now but will try to highlight a few things I've noticed over the past weekend. It'll be all too easy to go on a rant about how your team means , and to a certain extent that may be true, but there were certainly some subtle differences between the two I feel are important to discuss.

Firstly, defenders. This is the part that worried me the most, having gone from a defence of De Gea, FS TAA, Flashback Luiz, PIM Cannavaro and Carniball Mendy to NIF Asenjo, Semedo, Paulista, Leglet and Lucas Hernandez (total cost 7.7k)... it could be down to my very manual defending nature but the difference between the two defences was negligible. I honestly can't recall a single time my CB's were torn apart for pace, not one. I guess with a base pace of 73 and key defensive stats all boosted to around 90 and above with sentinel I need not have worried. These stats seemed more than adequate. Found I ended up being a little more conservative with my fullbacks, especially Hernandez, but apart from that not much changed at all. Semedo and Lenglet in particular stood out and were exceptionally solid.

Asenjo let in goals he probably should have saved, saved some things he had no right getting a hand to - your typical Fifa GK performance. Did feel like a let in a few more goals than usual over the course of the weekend but in all honesty it was simply De Gea's long throw I missed the most. Apart from that never really felt at a disadvantage.

Midfield was where I felt the greatest difference between the two sides but even then it wasn't huge- NIF Kondogbia and Vidal (yep, NIF Vidal and his whopping 57 pace ) with chemstyles kept to basic performed well but did find they were caught in possession a lot more regularly than midfielders I'd used previously such as Makelele, Ballack, Pogba, FS Guendouzi, Carniball Talisca, IF Goretz etc. They didn't quite have the ability to create or push forward from deep as before and definitely found I was turning over possession more than I'd have liked. Simple passes and less sprinting were a staple here. Defensively they felt fine, and Vidal's 57 pace felt like an outright lie (honestly felt closer to 70) but they are definitely the one area of the team that was lacking, along with NIF Ben Yedder at CAM whose passing was not up to scratch. WBY was probably the poorest performer of the weekend on a whole. Scored a decent number of goals for a CAM but his creativity cost me in a number of situations where he was just unable to find a pass that better players would have. Then again, for 700 coins not really sure you can ask for much more than he provided.

Now, attacking. This was the part that surprised me the most. I've used players over the course of the year such as Ibra, POTM Hazard, Prime Larsson, Aguero, Prime Figo, countless top rated attackers..... not only did NIF Rodrigo score as many as them all, but NIF Guedes (another who cost 700 coins) at LM assisted more than any single player I've used for that period of games. It's not an exaggeration either, he honestly did lads. 17 assists in 21 games, from LM in a 4231(2). Can't quite put my finger on what it is about him but found his positioning and attacking sense to be absolutely top notch - he was making runs at the right moments, cutting in from left on his right foot was a breeze, rarely got shoved off the ball, arrived late in the area unmarked regularly. He and Rodrigo were absolute menaces - Rodrigo's finishing was superb throughout, absolute rocket of a left foot and felt a lot more agile and quick to turn than his stats suggest. His heading wasn't the greatest and missed the target a few times with simple headers better players may have nodded in but in terms out outright finishing, either inside the box or a 25 yard screamer, if he had a clear shot at goal he tended to score.

NIF Dembele at RM was acceptable but too easily shoved around, didn't have much of an impact throughout my run of games and I think would be better suited to a substitutes role but so far as the other two are concerned, literally couldn't tell the difference between Guedes and Rodrigo and 2-3m coin replacements.

One notable thing with attacking I did notice was that Rodrigo/WBY were closed down a fraction of a second faster than when using high end players - I guess this is down to reaction times and composure. Playing the ball in to Rodrigo's feet looking for him to hold up play a little did notice than opposition defenders stepped up and dealt with them. Early on in games I started worrying that this may cause issues but of course, this is Fifa. Just keep patient, don't look to belt the ball forward and score as quickly as possible with every single attack and your chances will come.

And last but not least, mentality. Going in to these matches I 100% felt that my concentration levels were higher and I cared just that little bit more than when I'm using stacked sides. And this is what I think matters most. In situations where I'd attempt a shot from a ridiculous angle or try to dribble past two defenders in a tight area expecting to be bailed out by my expensive superstars I'd instead make an extra pass or two and recycle possession... as opposed to lose it in a stupid position and no doubt get spanked on the counter. My average possession stats were undoubtedly higher this weekend than before, and this in turn helps defensively. If your opponent doesn't have the ball he's going to find it a lot harder to score. And get frustrated, especially when you're matching him passing wise with your ragtag bunch of NIF bandits.

In summary, unless you're going for the absolute top-notch players such as TOTY's or the high end icons such as Gullit etc I really don't think you'll find that much of a difference between a 25k side and a 5m side in terms of your results - will go at it again in a couple of weekends but for now, in my opinion, if you're simply average at the game as the vast majority of us are the difference is probably 1-2 wins a weekend.

Got to ask yourself, is it really worth the grind?

Longest post in this thread, ever

But seriously very valid points and agree that a meta team to an average team has a very small difference. When matchmaking and gameplay is not sorted there is no difference. I can go 5 wins in a row and then 3-4 losses, week in week out..

I enjoy playing with my meta team but agree its not for the rewards, thats why i stop.at g3, could get g2 comfortably every week almost and with fair gameplay im sure g1

This diffenece is the same as a meta team or a 25k team imo. @PelzyWelzy

Certainly in my less than gifted hands I can see no difference between baby Socrates and PIM Socrates, yet I'm certain in a more than capable player E1/Top 100/Pro can get the most out of any card they use.

Playing to the Meta, players that suit your playstyle, formation and ability to adapt in game to your opponent are key.

@ugri - Yeah, I definitely went off on one then. And to think I started the whole thing with 'I'm a little lost for words!' Perhaps that was an exaggeration But yes, totally agree with you... the difference between what's considered as standard NIF side and a meta side is very small. May even give it a go with some mid tier NIF's next week... Serie A squad perhaps with NIF Mertens, Nain, Matuidi, Manolas and the like. They're still very very cheap and at this stage people would probably consider them poor cards to have but can pretty much guarantee the gap between them and very expensive teams would be even smaller.

@Addicksfan - also totally agree with your points. Definitely think top, top players are able to utilise better cards to their advantage and as such will see a marked improvement from say Guedes to a POTM Hazard etc but for us lesser mortals so long as cards can do the simple things to an acceptable enough standard we're probably not going to reap the benefits.

Formation and players that suit your playstyle are vitally important though, that's for sure.

Tempted by Vidal even though I hate him Card looks amazing, and surely an upgrade on Keane / Talisca / Delaney

Really @FrankFrank I actually really like him, I'm just trying to fit him in a competitive team now.....

@Addicksfan Review please, gonna get him butb wondering if an upgrade to rttf Kondogbia

@ugri yep will do....he looks insane, gonna test him out at CDM, RCM and CAM and i'll let you know how it goes.

@Addicksfan As a Barca fan and having every card i really already wanted i just got him as well. No pointbin waiting anymore plus i have 800k spare and 3 fodder icons. If he is good in my meta team than selling Kondo. Lets see.
Still.interested in your review, will do myself as well Engine on him as cm?

Tempted by Vidal even though I hate him Card looks amazing, and surely an upgrade on Keane / Talisca / Delaney

Really @FrankFrank I actually really like him, I'm just trying to fit him in a competitive team now.....

@Addicksfan Review please, gonna get him butb wondering if an upgrade to rttf Kondogbia

@ugri yep will do....he looks insane, gonna test him out at CDM, RCM and CAM and i'll let you know how it goes.

@Addicksfan As a Barca fan and having every card i really already wanted i just got him as well. No pointbin waiting anymore plus i have 800k spare and 3 fodder icons. If he is good in my meta team than selling Kondo. Lets see.
Still.interested in your review, will do myself as well Engine on him as cm?

Artist, Maestro or Engine.....I really like Artist as it gives his Agility and Balance a really nice boost but I am going to try Engine and Maestro too

Congrats on the icon pull @Ugri
14-6 in some of the most embarassing gameplay I have ever had the displeasure of playing in. Thank goodness I drained my club to get PIM Socrates. He is incredible in behind FB Ibra even in awful gameplay. 20 goals and 16 assists in his 1st 20 games. Good luck to the rest of you guys this weekend.